CHAPTER 1
BASIC STRUCTURE OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT
Latest Revision
November, 2002
The General Assembly shall provide by general law for the organization and
government of counties, and may provide by general law alternative forms of county
government....
(Ohio Constitution, Article X, Section 1, in part)
1.01
INTRODUCTION
County government predates statehood. Indeed, by the time Ohio was admitted to the
Union in 1803, nine counties had been established under the provisions of the
Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Washington County was Ohio's first county, established
in 1788. Ohio now contains 88 county governments.
The roots of county government can be traced back as far as 603 AD to an area of
Southern England where the King divided the land into "shires". Shires were controlled
by the monarchy who appointed a local governing official. The term shire was used
until the 15th century when the term "county" was adopted. County government
evolved in England over several centuries and was brought to the United States with the
English colonizers. American independence fostered various changes to American
government, including the strengthening of state governments and a more defined role
for counties. Yet, the Saxon influence is still evident in county government today.
The Ohio Constitution, as cited at the beginning of this Chapter provides authority for
the organization and governance of counties. This Chapter will discuss the general
statutory form of county government. Chapter 2 will discuss county charters and the
alternative form of county government as authorized by the Ohio Constitution and
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codified in Chapter 302 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). The General Assembly has
no authority to provide separate forms of government for individual counties.
1.02
COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS
Each Ohio county organized under the general statutory law has eleven elected officials
consisting of three county commissioners and an auditor, treasurer, prosecuting
attorney, clerk of courts of common pleas, engineer, coroner, recorder and sheriff.
There is no chief executive officer; each elected official possesses some executive
authority. A brief description of the duties of each elected official will be given later in
this chapter.
1.03
COUNTY POWERS
County government does not possess home rule authority. That is to say, county
officials may act only when and as specifically authorized by state law. An 1857
Supreme Court case established a general theory of the status of counties which is still
relevant today. The court stated:
"Counties are local subdivisions of a state, created by the sovereign power
of the state, of its own will, without the particular solicitation, consent, or
concurrent action of the people who inhabit them.... With scarcely an
exception, all powers and functions of the county organization have a
direct and exclusive reference to the general policy of the state, and are,
in fact, but a branch of the general administration of that policy. (Hamilton
County v Mighels, OS 109)."
In addition, other court rulings have defined the nature of county government in Ohio.
County government is viewed as "a constituent part of the plan of permanent
organization of the state government (State ex rel Godfrey v O'Brien, 95 OS 166).
Another court viewed counties as "serving as a mere agency of the state for certain
specified purposes (Cincinnati W.E.Z.R. Co. v Clinton County (1 OS 77)). Many county
officials who are concerned with the problems of state mandates become enraged when
they are reminded that one court stated that "the county is a creature in the hands of the
state as its creator, subject to be molded and fashioned by the state as the exigencies
of the situation may require" (Blacker v Wiethe 16 OS (2d) 65).
Contrast these statements by the courts defining the basic nature of a county with
Article XVIII, Section 3, of the Ohio Constitution, the Municipal Home Rule Amendment
of 1912:
"Municipalities shall have authority to exercise all powers of local selfgovernment and to adopt and enforce within their limits such police,
sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general
laws."
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While the concept of municipal home rule is complex and has been defined over the
years by a myriad of court rulings, the distinction is clear. Counties, not possessing
home rule or powers of local self-government, may perform only those governmental
functions specifically authorized by state law and in the manner specified in law. If the
ORC is silent on the subject, counties do not possess the authority to act.
Municipalities, on the other hand, are generally free to act in areas where counties may
not. The Home Rule Amendment to the Ohio Constitution grants municipalities almost
unlimited authority to exercise powers of local self-government.
In addition,
municipalities may enact police, sanitary, or similar regulations if they do not conflict
with general laws of the state. The courts have interpreted the constitutional provision
"as are not in conflict with general laws" as applying only to "police, sanitary and other
similar regulations" and not to "powers of local self government". The adoption of a
municipal charter is not required in order to obtain home rule powers because municipal
home rule is a direct constitutional grant of power.
For example, county commissioners are without authority to license and control cats, as
they do dogs, because the ORC is silent on the subject. Municipalities, however, are
free to enact an ordinance requiring licensing of cats.
1.04
RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS
Several chapters of the ORC must be consulted in order to gain a good understanding
of county government. The following chapters of the ORC contain basic information on
all county elected officials:
Officials
ORC Chapters
A. Board of County Commissioners
305, 307
B. Auditor
319
C. Clerk of Courts of Common Pleas
2303
D. Coroner
313
E. Engineer
315
F. Prosecutor
309
G. Recorder
317
H. Sheriff
311
I. Treasurer
321
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No county elected official's office is established in the state constitution. The offices of
all county elected officials are established by legislative act as are the duties of the
various officials. Following is a summary of the major responsibilities of the county
elected officials:
A.
Board of County Commissioners - ORC Chapters 305 and 307
All Ohio counties organized under the general statutory law have three county
commissioners, two being elected at the time of the presidential election and one at the
time of the gubernatorial election.
The county commissioner elected at the
gubernatorial election takes office on January 1st, and the two elected at the
presidential election take office on January 2nd and 3rd. Candidates for these two
commissioner positions must file for either the January 2 or 3 position (ORC 305.01).
The organizational meeting of the board of county commissioners occurs on the second
Monday of January each year by the election of one of its members as president (ORC
305.05). The commission must hold 50 regular meetings per year (ORC 305.06) and as
many special meetings as necessary to conduct their business (ORC 305.07).
County commissioners make up the general administrative body for county government.
As indicated above, they can perform those duties which are specifically authorized by
the General Assembly and no more. They are the county government taxing,
budgeting, appropriating, and purchasing authority. They hold title to county property.
Individual commissioners have no power to act independently. All formal and official
actions must be taken by the board of county commissioners acting as a body by
majority or unanimous vote.
Commissioners also have a myriad of other responsibilities including hearing and ruling
on annexations, approving drainage improvements through the petition ditch process,
establishing water and sewer districts and making improvements, and providing for solid
waste disposal.
Commissioners also appoint department heads of offices for which they have
responsibility and also appoint members to a variety of boards and commissions, and
also serve on some boards such as the board of revision, the county records
commission, and the planning commission.
Commissioners must work with all other county elected officials and with judges to
assure that they are properly funded to perform their statutory duties.
But it is the non-statutory duties of county commissioners that make them different from
other county elected officials. By necessity, county commissioners must take a broad
view of actions necessary to make the county a better place to live and work. Many
commissioners are thus active in promoting public/private partnerships in human
services, economic development, health, and infrastructure development. Other
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commissioners take an active role in improving the environment, promoting job training
programs, and improving agriculture in their counties.
County commissioners must be astute and have good business sense. Perhaps the
most important attribute of a county commissioner is the ability to lead, to listen to the
needs of the citizens and other elected officials, to compromise, and to develop a
consensus on priority issues to improve the county.
B.
Auditor - ORC Chapter 319
The county auditor is the only elected official, aside from the one commissioner, that is
elected in the gubernatorial election year. All other county elected officials are elected
in the presidential election year. If the commissioners do not appoint a clerk, the auditor
is, by statute, the clerk of the board of county commissioners.
The auditor is the chief fiscal officer of the county. As the county's chief fiscal officer,
the auditor has the responsibility to keep the official record of all county government
receipts and disbursements. The auditor is a very important office from the perspective
of county commissioners because it is the responsibility of the office to certify to the
commissioners an estimate of available revenue that they may appropriate for county
agencies and departments. When the county makes a purchase or enters into a
contract, the auditor must certify that funds are available or in the process of collection
from the appropriate account. This assures that no agency spends more than the
commissioners appropriate for various purposes. In addition, the auditor issues
warrants to pay county bills, and serves as the "paymaster" for all county employees.
The auditor prepares a detailed annual report of all revenue and expenditures by fund
under rules of the state auditor.
Another major responsibility of the auditor relates to the administration of Ohio's
property tax law. As the appraiser of real property, the auditor must assure that every
parcel of land and buildings and improvements are fairly and uniformly appraised and
then assessed for tax purposes. The auditor directs a general reappraisal of real
property every six years with an update being performed during the third year after the
reappraisal.
In administering Ohio's real property tax law, the auditor must maintain accurate records
of real property including the transfer of deeds, new construction, new parcels and lot
splits, oil and gas wells, homestead exemptions, and special assessments.
Every year the auditor prepares an abstract of real property, an abstract of property
exempt from taxation, an abstract of current agricultural use (CAUV) property, an
abstract of tax rates, and the general tax list and duplicate. After taxes are collected by
the county treasurer, the auditor distributes taxes and special assessments to various
political subdivisions and county agencies or boards. The auditor also certifies a list
and duplicate of delinquent taxes and must publish the list. The treasurer then pursues
these delinquencies.
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The auditor also has a variety of other significant responsibilities including:
1. To distribute funds to various political subdivisions. This includes distributions of
motor vehicle license taxes, gasoline taxes, estate taxes, fines, personal property
taxes, and state local government fund monies to counties, townships,
municipalities, libraries and certain park districts.
2. To serve as an agent for the state Tax Commissioner for administering Ohio's
tangible personal property tax law.
3. To administer Ohio's manufactured home law by assessing manufactured
homes, preparing a tax duplicate, and distributing manufactured home taxes in
the same manner as real property taxes.
4. To serve as an agent for the state Tax Commissioner to process estate tax
returns of decedents who had residence in the county, including the inventory of
safe deposit boxes. The auditor then distributes monies collected from the estate
tax to the state and township or municipality of the decedent.
5. To serve as the sealer of weights and measures by inspecting such devices as
scales and gas pumps to protect the consuming public.
6. To issue various licenses including licenses for dogs and kennels, vendors
licenses, and cigarette licenses.
Finally, the auditor serves critical functions on certain county boards and commissions.
The auditor is the secretary of both the county budget commission and the board of
revision, and is the chief administrator of the automatic data processing board if the
county commissioners have established one. He or she also serves on the board of
trustees of the county sinking fund. The functions of these boards are detailed in other
Chapters of this Handbook.
C.
Clerk of Courts - ORC Chapter 2303
The principal duty of the clerk of courts is to keep journals, records, books, and the
papers pertaining to the court of common pleas and the court of appeals. The clerk's
responsibilities involve not only the filing, docketing, indexing, and preserving of all
pleadings, but also with arriving at decisions regarding the procedures required by law
and the issuance of writs including summons and subpoenas.
The clerk of courts is also responsible for issuing titles for motor vehicles and watercraft.
As a part of this responsibility the clerk collects the sales tax on automobiles and remits
this money to the state. In this regard, the clerk also issues memorandum copies of
titles, duplicates, notations of licenses on vehicles and watercraft and fees associated
with these responsibilities.
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Some clerks also perform the duties of administrator for juvenile and probate courts,
and a few serve as the clerk of the municipal or a county court. Clerks also generally
accept passport applications and accept applications for hunting and fishing licenses.
Finally, the clerk of courts has the responsibility for collecting or disbursing millions of
dollars in court costs, witness fees, juror fees, fines, appraisal fees and other costs.
Clerks also file real estate sales persons and brokers licenses, optometrists licenses,
coroners reports, and notary public commissions.
D.
Coroner - ORC Chapter 313
The coroner is an important part of the criminal and civil justice system. The coroner
has the responsibility to investigate the cause of any death resulting from criminal or
violent means, accidents, or in other situations where someone in good health dies, or
where a death is suspicious or unusual. In auto accidents resulting in a fatality, the
coroner must determine the blood alcohol content of the person killed in the accident.
The coroner works with law enforcement agencies and the county prosecutor in
preparing cases for trial; may conduct inquests to ascertain the exact cause of death;
performs autopsies, x-rays, toxicology tests; and often testifies as an expert witness on
the cause and manner of death in court. Larger county coroners maintain morgues with
professional pathologists to conduct autopsies, as well as laboratory facilities. These
services are often utilized on a fee basis by smaller counties.
The coroner or his or her designee also must serve on a county or regional Child
Fatality Review Board established under ORC section 307.622.For more information on
the county coroner see Chapter 104 of this Handbook.
E.
County Engineer - ORC Chapter 315
The county engineer is the county's surveyor and civil engineer. The primary duty of the
county engineer is to plan, design, construct, and maintain the county road system,
including county bridges. The engineer also has responsibility for township bridges and
for bridges within municipalities on through routes. Unlike most other county elected
officials offices, the engineer is primarily funded with dedicated motor vehicle license
and gasoline taxes.
The engineer is also responsible for maintaining the auditor's tax maps including
reviewing deeds, land transfers, lot splits, and annexation petitions for proper boundary
descriptions.
In addition, information from property surveys and surveying monumentation is also filed
with the engineer. These functions are paid from the general fund.
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The engineer also serves as the engineer for all townships, and in some counties
provides assistance to the planning commission, building regulation department, zoning
commission, or may be appointed as the county sanitary engineer by the county
commissioners. In many counties the engineer spends considerable time on drainage
improvement projects under Ohio's petition ditch law. For additional information on
drainage and road and bridge functions see Chapters 29 and 30 of this Handbook.
F.
Prosecuting Attorney - ORC Chapter 309
The prosecuting attorney is the county's criminal and civil attorney. While the
prosecutor is best known to the public for prosecuting criminal actions in the name of
the state, the office is also critical to county government because it is the legal advisor
to the board of county commissioners and to "the board of elections, and all other
county officers and boards....." (ORC 309.09). The office also represents libraries,
townships, and county school districts (ORC 3313.35) with the exception of city school
districts. These civil responsibilities include the rendering of opinions, prosecuting and
defending the county or agency, and the review and approval as to form of all contracts.
The prosecutor of the most populous county comprising a joint vocational school district
also represents the district. A county prosecutor also has the responsibility to prosecute
all juvenile cases including child neglect, dependency, and abuse along with juvenile
felony, misdemeanor, and even traffic violations.
The prosecutor is often involved in child support cases including interstate criminal nonsupport cases and often enforces child support under contracts with the county child
support enforcement agency (SEA). Finally, the prosecutor serves as a member of the
county budget commission and works with the county treasurer to collect delinquent
property taxes.
G.
Recorder - ORC Chapter 317
The county recorder is the county's official keeper of records. The function of the office
is to provide protection to persons and property by recording a variety of legally
essential documents. Many of the instruments recorded by the county recorder relate to
real estate transactions. The recorder accepts for recording deeds, mortgages,
mechanic liens, powers of attorney, recognizance bonds, Internal Revenue Service
liens, corporate franchise liens, partnerships and other instruments. In some counties
land is registered under the Torrens system which is also administered by the recorder.
Under revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), as amended by
Senate Bill 74 of the 123rd General Assembly, which became effective July 1st, 2001,
the vast majority of financing statements that are not related to real estate are now filed
centrally with the office of the Secretary of State and are no longer filed at the county
level with the recorder’s office. The county recorder continues to record subdivision
plats and records all county and township zoning resolutions and amendments. If the
county commissioners have established a county microfilming board, the recorder
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serves as its secretary and as the chief administrator of the microfilm center. See
Chapter 131 for additional information on the county microfilm board.
H.
Sheriff - ORC Chapter 311
The sheriff is the county's chief law enforcement officer, with duties to maintain the
peace, operate the jail, attend the courts, investigate crimes, and execute processes.
More detailed information concerning the office of sheriff may be found in Chapter 100
of this Handbook.
I.
Treasurer - ORC Chapter 321
The treasurer is the county's banker. This office has custody of the county's money
from the time it is collected, invests county funds, and redeems county warrants issued
by the auditor.
The treasurer bills and collects taxes on real and personal property, manufactured
homes, estate taxes, and vendors and cigarette licenses.
The office also receives all county monies whether they are received by the treasurer or
by another county office. Pay-ins from other county officers are certified to specific
accounts by the auditor and deposited by the treasurer.
When the auditor issues a warrant for the payment of a county obligation, the treasurer
redeems the warrant and posts it to the proper account, thus providing a check and
balance with the auditor. Total receipts, disbursements, and remaining funds must
balance between the auditor and the treasurer monthly.
The treasurer serves as the county's investment officer under strict legal guidelines.
Working with the county investment advisory committee, which the treasurer serves on
with two county commissioners, idle county funds are invested to earn revenues for the
county general fund. In many counties investment earnings are the third or fourth single
largest source of income to the county general fund.
The treasurer also has primary responsibility to collect delinquent taxes. Working with
the county prosecutor, special funds are available to pursue delinquent taxes, and help
is available to taxpayers to avoid foreclosure actions. In certain counties treasurers
have established real estate escrow programs that allows taxpayers to spread their tax
payments over a six-month period. Others administer a linked deposit program that
makes low cost loans available for small businesses to protect and create jobs in the
county.
Under House Bill 493 of the 123rd General Assembly, which became effective on
October 27th, 2000, treasurers have greater flexibility in collecting delinquent taxes and
are authorized to accept, under specified circumstances, partial payment of taxes.
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Like the auditor, the treasurer serves on the county budget commission, the board of
revision, the automatic data processing board, and the board of trustees of the county
sinking fund. Along with two of the three county commissioners, the treasurer also
serves on the county investment advisory committee established under ORC Section
135.341.
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